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Dark elf (Ashan)
Dark elves are one of the three factions in Ashan that dwell underground. They live in the underground Kingdom of Ygg-Chall. History They once were sylvan elves who lived in the forest of Tarlad under the rule of Queen Tuidhana. However, after High King Arniel usurped the powers of the local Elf kings, stripped the Druids of their authority, and made his own title hereditary, Tuidhana was among those who protested but the only one who rebelled. She declared her kingdom of Tarlad, located at the north-western border of the Holy Falcon Empire, independent from the High King. During this conflict, the ambitious and opportunistic knights of the Holy Emperor Liam Falcon seized the occasion to invade Tuidhana’s lands, thus beginning the War of the Bitter Ashes. Battered by the imperial armies, Tuidhana appealed to Irollan for help, but Arniel chose to let her land suffer and her people die. In desperation to protect her people, Tuidhana turned to the few surviving Faceless. They were willing to help her for a price: in exchange for their help her people were to convert to Malassa, the Dragon Goddess of Darkness. Tuidhana accepted their offer, and the dark elves were born. With the powers of dark magic, Tuidhana reaffirmed her kingdoms independence, recognized by both Irollan and the Holy Empire. Over twenty years later, tensions between the new dark elves and the Sylvan elves remain ever high, until Brythigga, the mother of trees was burned to the ground, High King Arniel also died in the fire that day. Tuidhanna's people were blamed for the vile act. After the burning of Brythigga and the Death of Arniel, the dark elves were forced to leave their lands and the Faceless led them underground, on the dwarf border. Tuidhana herself stayed behind to fend off the vengeful armies of Irollon but died as a martyr, her death however split the dark elves into separate clans. Beneath the earth, local skirmishes against the Dwarves escalated into an open conflict, the so-called War under the Mountains, which left the dark elves on the fringe of extinction. With little hope and facing the end of their race, the three main dark Elf clans decided to put their differences aside and rally behind a common Lord of the Clans, founding the subterranean kingdom of Ygg-Chall. Using the Faceless' Invisible Library as the center of their civilization, the dark elves formed Konos, the Maze as their capitol. The dark elves are now a continually growing people and nation, adapting to their life in the Darkness and are currently trying to establish relations with the other nations albeit slowly and with great caution on both sides. Religion and Culture Originally, like their sylvan cousins, the dark elves once worshiped Sylanna, Dragon Goddess of Earth. That changed due to the pact they formed with the Faceless. They now turned to worship the Dragon of Darkness, Malassa, dedicating statues and other such monuments to her. The magic of the dark elves is actually sorcery, not that of the druids. Their magic is the same of the Faceless, the "alien" magic of Dark Magic. After the death of Queen Tuidhana, the kingdom of Ygg-Chall was separated in numerous clans. The ruling clans are the Soulscar Clan, the Nightshard Clan, and the Shadowbrand Clan, each led by one of the three sons of Tuidhana; Sylsai, Menan and Raelag respectively. All three clans follow a singular elected Lord of the Clans. The members of the Soulscar Clan are fascinated by pain, suffering and madness, the members of the Shadowbrand Clan listen for secrets of the soul, and the members of the Nightshard Clan are passionate about emotions like sadness or happiness. The political implications of these differences are that the Nightshards are usually in favour of trade and neutrality, the Shadowbrands are for secrecy and non-interference with the surface world, and the Soulscars are the most aggressive and revenge-driven of all clans. In terms of how the dark elves wage war, their generals believe that a war is better won with persuasive words, devious stratagems, and poisoned daggers than with an army in the field, and as such they have no hesitation about sending out spies, saboteurs and assassins as instruments of policy. The dark elves are capable of long-termed battles but are more in favor of hit and run tactics. They are overall, a pragmatic people, and bribery and assassination are often cheaper than raising an army. If needed, their Shadow Priests also master various mind-control and life-draining spells and are capable of summoning dark beasts that live within the caves of Ygg-Chall, like the the Hydras, Troglodytes and the Shadow Dragons. Society Since the founders of the dark elves made a pact with the Dragon of Darkness, one of the consequences is that all dark elves are imprinted by Malassa’s mark and constantly forced to hear the constant whispers carried away by the shadows. There are those who can channel this permanent flow of information, and those who can’t, and this divides the dark elf society into two classes. The dark elves that can’t bear the constant whispers imposed by Malassa’s mark are forced to erect a barrier to shield themselves from the rest of the world, lest they turn insane. To help them live with Malassa’s gift, they burn specific varieties of mushrooms and inhale the vapors. The medicine is like an anesthetic that shuts their mind away from the ceaseless noise. On the other hand, the dark elves who successfully process the voices from the Darkness without losing their mind hold great power. Young dark elves who demonstrate this gift are selected for the priesthood. Taken from their families as children, they are raised in the temples of Malassa as seekers of forbidden lore and masters of Dark Magic. They grow up utterly dedicated, utterly loyal and utterly fanatical to the aims of the Dragon of Darkness. Those who rise to the highest ranks undergo a secret ritual that lets them commune with Malassa, making them capable of dreamwalking. When the ritual is complete, their eyes become black and pupiless, and they never blink again. Joining the priesthood is the highest goal to which a dark elf can aspire, and competition for an elevated place in the temple is fierce. The priesthood of Malassa maintains temples in every city and altars in every outpost. These sacred places are open to all, as the Dragon of Darkness will speak to any who call her, but public observances are few. This is possibly due to the fact that Malassa’s teachings are esoteric and poorly understood, even by most of the dark elves themselves. What unites the dark elves as clans is not blood relationships, but a common interest for a specific message found in Malassa’s whispers. There are three major clans – Nightshard, Shadowbrand and Soulscar, the ones founded by the sons of the legendary Queen Tuidhana – that rule over the smaller clans. During their early years, the dark elves were given one thousand loyal Minotaurs from the Crimson Wizards of Karthal as diplomatic gesture. In a short period of time, the Minotaurs took oaths of loyalty to the dark elves and Malassa. While most dark elves appreciate the Minotaurs’ strength and reliability and consider them valuable allies, a few clans, notably the Soulscars, tend to see them as little more than slaves. Minotaurs often fight battles in gladiatorial arenas to prove their strength and impress future employers, mostly becoming bodyguards and protectors. Around the same time, during their quest to form their nation, the dark elves encountered a faction of renegade Naga's, led by Daimyo Oshiro the Accursed. After being conquered, Oshiro’s people became part of the Dark Elf kingdom. Medusa Sorceresses had no issue finding their place in Ygg-Chall’s society, especially after they proved themselves during the final years of the War under the Mountains, becoming very proficient with Dark Magic. The infamous Shadow and Black Dragons, have a special place in dark elf Society. Though they are worshiped by the dark elves, Shadow Dragons tolerate their worshipers and occasionally ally with them. But there’s always a price to their help… The Faceless also have a unique position in dark elf society, almost similar to the Angel's role in the Holy Empire. The children of Malassa are often said to be extinct, but the ones in Konos are pretty spry. Faceless are fascinating winged creatures, wearing mysterious masks allowing them to take any shape or appearance. While it was confirmed that the Faceless are not extinct, no one knows if there are whole legions of them or only a handful of survivors left to mentor Malassa’s new protégés before passing into the Darkness themselves. Relations Since the dark elves civilization was born during and after the War of the Bitter Ashes, the Dark elves have a burning hatred towards the elves of Irollon and a lingering dislike for the Holy Empire. Despite their past, being somewhat opposites in magic and nature and the Church of Light's branding, relations are slowly improving, mainly in trade and commerce, by the more open-minded nobles and dukes of the Empire and the dark elf clan lords. Dark elves and sylvan elves however, ultimately despise or at least distrust each other as Arniel allowed Emperor Liam to invade Tarlad and later the elves of Irollon immediately blamed the dark elves for the destruction of Brythigga and Arniel's death, without proof. Though there are some individuals of both kingdoms who wish to reunite the two people and be at peace with each other, like Menan and Alaron. Others simply want bloody revenge for the acts that were committed during the War of the Bitter Ashes and after the dark elves' banishment, like Sylsai. The Naga's of the Lotus Empire have a complicated relation of the dark elves of Ygg-Chall to say the least. The Naga's of Oshiro, a traitor to the Eternal Empress, pledged allegiance to the dark elves and to Malassa thus creating the Medusae, therefore this created some friction between the two kingdoms. Though possibly due to the distance between the two kingdoms, relations are, most likely, at a minimum. More prominently, the dark elves are rivals with the dwarves of Grimhiem as both are underground people and were once at war with each other, nearly driving the dark elves to extinction. Now they are at odds with each other, both expanding their subterranean kingdoms and the dwarves have more than once found dark elf tunnels snaking underneath their borders and even in the Holy Empire. The Silver Cities have little relations with the dark elves, save for the Crimson Wizards, who gifted them the Minotaurs, suggesting a good relation of some sort. Though this exchange had angered most of the wizards of the Silver Cities. Dark elves have no real relations to the Orcs, but its been suggested that they think of them as little more than primitive barbarians. The Necromancers of Heresh have a unique relation to the dark elves, both use Dark Magic in their works and have aided each other in the past, mostly against a common enemy like the Demons or against the Nethermaner Sandro. Category:Races of Ashan Category:Ashan